Classy Arsenal display gives Arteta timely reminder of Ceballos' effectiveness

Arsenal fans were initially perplexed at Matteo Guendouzi's absence from the squad for the 4-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday. The Frenchman hadn't sustained any injury issues prior to Sunday's clash and it was expected he would at least make the bench for the home meeting with the Magpies. 

Guendouzi had been a key man under Unai Emery, but had fallen down the pecking order with Mikel Arteta at the helm. Indeed, the youngster has started just two of seven league matches since Arteta was named head coach and Sunday marked the first Premier League match the midfielder has missed in its entirety all season. 

So it perhaps came as no surprise that, on Monday, reports began to emerge that Guendouzi endured a heated row with Arteta and his coaching staff during Arsenal's winter training camp in Dubai. Supposedly, his poor body language and attitude in a training session was picked up by the 37-year-old and the arguments continued into that evening. 

Whether Guendouzi has played his final game in an Arsenal shirt, it remains to be seen, but it's going to be hard for the 20-year-old to work his way back into Arteta's plans as the the head coach aims to stamp his authority on the squad. And yet one man's loss is another man's profit. 

Dani Ceballos made his first league start in an Arsenal shirt since their 1-1 draw with Wolves back in November, against Newcastle on Sunday, with the on-loan midfielder a surprise inclusion in the middle of the park alongside Granit Xhaka. Ceballos had been tipped to leave the Gunners last month having found playing time hard to come by, with some outlets suggesting his request to depart the north London side was rejected. 

After a bright start to life in England, injuries hindered Ceballos' cause for Arsenal and has restricted the 23-year-old to just eight league starts. With a spot in Spain's Euro 2020 squad up for grabs, Ceballos is wary that a lack of regular game time may see him lose in place in the side, but if Sunday's performance is anything to go by, then it's clear the Spain international has a big role to play in the final months of the campaign. 

Ceballos earned a WhoScored rating of 7.09 from Arsenal's 4-0 win over Newcastle as he received a standing ovation from the home support when he was withdrawn from action eight minutes from time. He may not have had a direct hand in a goal in the victory, yet Ceballos provided a much-needed link between the midfield and attack that has been found wanting in this Arsenal side this season. 

Against steadfast opponents, the decision to use Lucas Torreira alongside Xhaka, for example, has proven counter-intuitive, with neither player able to provide an additional creative threat in the same manner as Ceballos. Only Mesut Ozil and Nicolas Pepe (both 4) made more key passes than Ceballos (3) in Arsenal's 4-0 win over Newcastle, while a 95.5% pass success rate from 89 passes was the third best return of all starters in the Sunday evening clash. 

Supporters were of course excited at the prospect of Ceballos in the Arsenal midfield when he arrived on loan from Real Madrid, with expectations reaching fever pitch after his superb display against Burnley back in August, and yet it has taken until February for the Spaniard to show a similar level of performance in a Premier League match and after a fairly pedestrian opening 45 minutes, Arsenal upped the ante after the break with Ceballos the heartbeat of the side.  

Indeed, only goalkeeper Martin Dubravka (13) made more accurate long balls than Ceballos (7) at the Emirates, so while he didn't drive forward with the ball - he only completed one dribble - his willingness to regularly show for possession was a welcome outlet for the defence. Crucially was that Ceballos looked to maximise the overlapping full-backs - Bukayo Saka, who features in the WhoScored European team of the week, and Hector Bellerin - to peg Newcastle back and it meant one of Arsenal's WhoScored strengths from the match report was 'Were effective at creating goalscoring opportunities from the flanks' as the midfielder spread play with ease. 

It's a fairly simplistic approach, but if Arsenal had the ball, then Newcastle had to work harder to win it back and as the Gunners routinely shifted possession across the pitch, it was only a matter of time before the exhausted Magpies capitulated. And when Newcastle did win possession, Ceballos wasn't one to shirk the responsibilities that come with playing in a double-pivot in a 4-2-3-1 setup. 

No player won possession in the midfield third more times than Ceballos (7) in the clash as his all action outing off the ball limited Newcastle to just two shots on target at the Emirates. It was an 82-minute display that gave supporters a welcome reminder of how big an asset Ceballos can be for Arteta and Arsenal. 

Fans are hoping this performance wasn't a false dawn, but rather a second coming of Ceballos as results over the weekend meant Arsenal ended the gameweek seven points off the top four with 12 games to play. It also serves of an example that Guendouzi needs to follow in order to work his way back into Arteta's plans with Ceballos re-emerging as a viable option from deep in the business end of the campaign.